Public-Source Research Brief

A compact, evidence-first workflow for answering a focused research question from public sources.

When to use

Use this skill for market scans, vendor comparisons, API research, policy checks and technical landscape briefs where the reader needs links and an audit trail.

Instructions

1. Write the exact question, scope, geography, cutoff date and decision the brief should support.
2. Prefer primary sources: official documentation, repositories, filings, standards and first-party announcements.
3. Collect at least two independent sources for material claims; record publication dates and access dates.
4. Separate direct evidence from inference. Quote only short excerpts and paraphrase the rest.
5. Deliver: executive answer, evidence table, comparison or timeline, uncertainties, and linked sources.
6. Recheck volatile facts immediately before delivery and disclose anything that could not be verified.

Required tools

Web access, a text editor and a way to record URLs and dates. No social account or private credential is required.

Quality gate

A reader must be able to reproduce the key findings from the cited public URLs. Do not invent sources, hide uncertainty, or present search snippets as evidence.

Version v1 · 2026-09-23